Like rings on a tree, coral exoskeletons grow in layers, helping paleoclimatologists learn about weather trends and phenomena from as many as 500 years ago. When exposed to a synchrotron – one of the world’s most powerful X-ray machines – in a Stanford University lab, the coral’s secrets become even more pronounced, revealing weather patterns and ocean temperatures down to the week, and giving researchers a highly detailed and accurate look at weather over several centuries past.
Producer: Jason Jaacks
Website: Deep Look
videoMathematics
After centuries of trying, we’ve yet to arrive at a perfect way to map colour
20 minutes
videoNature and landscape
‘A culture is no better than its woods’ – what our trees reveal about us, by W H Auden
5 minutes
videoOceans and water
A stunning visualisation explores the intricate circulatory system of our oceans
5 minutes
videoAnimals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes
videoEarth science and climate
Images carved into film form a haunting elegy for a disappearing slice of Earth
3 minutes
videoBiology
Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes
4 minutes
videoEngineering
Can monumental ‘ice stupas’ help remote Himalayan villages survive?
15 minutes
videoFairness and equality
There’s a dirty side to clean energy in the metal-rich mountains of South Africa
10 minutes
videoBiology
‘Save the parasites’ may not be a popular rallying cry – but it could be a vital one
11 minutes